Method of preserving fruits



Patented June E4, 1927..

- uurrsn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WHABTORT B. MOLAUGHLIN', OF NEW YORK, N. Y.; CELIA BEOWN HOLAUGHLIN LD- HINISTRATRIX F SAID WHARTON B. MCLAUGI'ILIN, DECEASED- METHOD OF PRESERVING FRUITS.

Ito Drawinga This invention relates to the art of preserving fruits, and has for its object the production off'anis and syrups containing the full fruit fi avor.

It is especially applicable to such fruits as peaches, apricots, apples, bananas, oranges and pineapples from which no fruit preserve containing the full and natural fruit flavor has been made, attempts to preserve it there by the ordinary processes such as are used for the preservation of small fruits such as berries (that is, a layer of berries, a layer of sugar, another layer of berries, another layer of sugar, and so on until the container is filled when it is placed in cold storage until a syrup and preserved berry results), have always resulted in failure;

both the preserve and the s rup acquiring a disagreeable flavor caused y the action of an enzyme contained in the fruit which begins to act as soon as the integment of the ruit is broken. It is well known that antiseptics inhibit the action of these enzymes and that approximately saturated sugar solutions, with or without the supplementary action of some other antiseptic or preservative, are usually relied upon to preserve jams, syrups, etc. It is also well known that if a piece of 3 apple or peach be covered with powdered sugar or immersed in a saturated sugar solution and maintained at a temperature below that at which yeast organisms function the fruit will turn brown and become unpalat-- ahleduring process of preservation by the sugar.

It has been and is now thought that these facts prohibitthe preservation of such fruit as a ples, peaches, etc, by the sugar refrigoration method;

.I; have discovered that these failures are due to theIfact thatwhen a piece of fruit is of ordinary size the action of the enzyme rocoeds faster than the saturation of the ruit by'sugar or in other words the oxidase causes discoloration and bad taste before the saturation of sugar in the piece of fruit is of sufiicient degree to inhibit the action of the enzyme. v I, have further discovered that if pieces of fruit such as apples, peaches, etc., be mixed with powdered sugar in amounts such Application filed September 25, 1924. Serial No. 739,938:

that when all is dissolved the fruit juices will be approximately saturated with sugar and the mixture milled soas to finely comminute the fruit and at the same time thoroughly mix it with the sugar, the sugar saturation proceeds faster than enzymic action, and enzymic action is thus inhibited by the sugar saturation. The resulting mixture is kept at a temperature of about 50 to Fahrenheit for approximately twenty four hours when thesu'gar saturation is com I plate, the mixture will be self-preserving, Wlll retain the fullfruit flavor, and its color will not change at ordinary temperature.-

not applicable, but also in the preservation of berriesas it avoids the slight fermentation which inevitably occurs in the interval of time between the packing of the berries and their reachingthe temperature at-which fermentation is inhibited.

It is evident that for reasons of convenrup may ience in consumption a portion of be'removed from the mixture w en there would result a thickened self preserving mass consistigg of the fruitulp reserve in saturated sugar solution an a se f-preservf mg syru Both of these articles would contain t e full fruit Jflavor and are well within the scope of my invention.

Having -I described my invention, that which I now claim as new i The method of reserving fruits which" consists in mixing t e fruit with sugar, immedlately milling the mixtureso as to finely commlnute the fruit and mix it"th'oroughly place,'and maintaining the mixture at a temperature sufiiciently' low that fermentation 1s prevented until it is self-preserving.

' Sgned at city of New York, in the count of ew York and State o'f'New York, this 24th day of September'A. D. 19%.

WHARTON B. MoLAUGHLIN.

with the sugar before fermentation takes 

